Merit Financial Group LLC Raises Holdings in Robert Half Inc. (NYSE:RHI)

Merit Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of Robert Half Inc. (NYSE:RHI - Free Report) by 87.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 27,547 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 12,871 shares during the quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC's holdings in Robert Half were worth $1,941,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in RHI. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Robert Half during the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Private Trust Co. NA boosted its position in shares of Robert Half by 79.7% during the 3rd quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 433 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 192 shares during the period. Reston Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Robert Half in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Eastern Bank acquired a new stake in Robert Half in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Robert Half by 35.6% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 682 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.41% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Robert Half

In related news, Director Dirk A. Kempthorne sold 1,032 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.35, for a total value of $76,729.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 12,310 shares of the company's stock, valued at $915,248.50. This represents a 7.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 3.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Robert Half Price Performance

Shares of Robert Half stock traded up $0.34 on Tuesday, reaching $71.26. 253,426 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 892,769. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $72.31 and its 200-day moving average price is $67.60. The company has a market cap of $7.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.01 and a beta of 1.24. Robert Half Inc. has a 1-year low of $57.05 and a 1-year high of $83.25.

Robert Half (NYSE:RHI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The business services provider reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.02. Robert Half had a net margin of 4.84% and a return on equity of 18.78%. The company had revenue of $1.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.44 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.90 EPS. The firm's revenue was down 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Robert Half Inc. will post 2.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Robert Half Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Monday, November 25th were issued a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.97%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 25th. Robert Half's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.37%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Robert Half from $70.00 to $69.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Truist Financial raised Robert Half from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $62.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Barclays raised shares of Robert Half from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $60.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, BNP Paribas cut shares of Robert Half from an "outperform" rating to an "underperform" rating and set a $64.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Monday, December 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $74.33.

Robert Half Company Profile

Robert Half Inc provides talent solutions and business consulting services in North America, South America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. The company operates through Contract Talent Solutions, Permanent Placement Talent Solutions, and Protiviti segments. The Contract Talent Solutions segment provides contract engagement professionals in the fields of finance and accounting, technology, marketing and creative, legal and administrative, and customer support.